Racial disparities in hypertension-related outcomes between African Americans and whites are well documented. Despite the efficacy of patient and physician-targeted interventions, the effectiveness and dissemination of these approaches remain largely untested in African Americans. Thus there is urgent need to translate evidence-based hypertension improvement programs to clinical practices and community-based settings to reduce cardiovascular health disparities in African Americans. One way to realize this goal is to train investigators in dissemination and implementation research. Candidate: The candidate for this Mid-career Investigator Award in Patient-Oriented Research is Olugbenga Ogedegbe, MD, MPH. His research is focused on the development, dissemination and translation into clinical practices, evidence-based behavioral interventions targeted at reduction of racial disparities in hypertension-related outcomes. He is a leading expert in health disparities research and has an impressive track record of successful research and mentorship. He is the PI of an NHLBI-funded training grant designed to mentor minority investigators in Behavioral and Sleep Medicine research; and core faculty on several training programs including a T32 Training Program in Cardiovascular Sciences, and a K12 Training Program in Comparative Effectiveness Research. Career Objectives: This K24 Award will provide Dr. Ogedegbe with protected time to broaden his mentorship activities and fulfill the following career objectives: (1 To train new investigators in patient-oriented research focused on the development of evidence-based behavioral interventions targeted at cardiovascular risk reduction in minority populations; (2) To enhance his work in the development and evaluation of the effectiveness of evidence-based behavioral interventions targeted at different aspects of patient-level and physician-level barriers to BP control in minority populations; and (3) To enhance his mentoring skills in the area of comparative effectiveness research with a particular focus on evaluation of interventions targeted at cardiovascular risk reduction in minority populations. Research Plan: Dr. Ogedegbe has four R01 grants that evaluate in three clinical trials, the translation of evidence-based behavioral interventions into clinical practices and the evaluation of the comparative effectiveness of well-proven drug therapy for treatment of hypertension in African Americans compared to Caucasians. These studies will support the mentorship activities for this award and serve as the clinical laboratory for mentees to launch their research careers. Mentoring Plan: Dr. Ogedegbe will mentor new investigators in the context of his newly funded training grant in Behavioral and Sleep Medicine research. In addition, he proposes a series of didactic courses, tailored mentoring, and structured research experiences to increase the independence of his trainees' research careers. He will work with trainees at different stages of their career and from a variety of professional backgrounds, thus facilitating multidisciplinary research experience for the trainees.